About Edward Cervantes
A native Angeleno and former New Yorker, Edward Cervantes is proud to now be a resident of Oakland, where he lives with his partner Jim and their three cats. He is a candidate for a master’s degree in public policy at Mills College. Fascinated by Oakland’s history, diversity, and geography, Edward looks forward to further exploring and writing about the city’s richness and complexity.

By Edward Cervantes Lake Merritt has four main residential areas: the Lakeside Apartments District, in the area around Jackson and Madison Streets; Adams Point/Grand Lake, off Grand Avenue and behind the Grand Lake Theater;?Haddon Hill/Cleveland Heights, off Lakeshore Avenue; and?the area below 18th?Street, on the southeast side of the Lake. For my first ‘Health of …Read more…

Today, mainstream media depicts a Panther demise into pimping, drug-dealing and gangbanging, but that history is questioned and should not remain as the Party’s legacy. In 1968, the police were the soldiers of a racist system and acted with impunity. The Panthers offered black communities much-needed protection, and through good works like teaching and feeding children, empowered and mobilized people to stand up against racial violence and rampant police brutality.

To me, Pride has always been a celebration of our status as sexual outsiders. By being outrageous, gender-fluid, kinky, and obscene, we hoped to change society and make it more accepting of gender and sexual variance – work that is far from over. Now more than ever, we need to shock, disgust, inspire, and teach. Including within our own community. The LGBT rights movement is now equated with gay marriage, the ultimate goal being acceptance of our relationships as “normal.” I fear that with each victory, the LGBT movement will loose a little more of its edge and increasingly turn against those that fall outside the new norm.

By Edward Cervantes – Starting on Merritt Avenue and walking down the Cleveland Cascade to Lakeshore Avenue, I head south along Lake Merritt, where people walk, jog, and bike along designated paths at almost any hour of the day.